Electronic equipment operating component function setting system

ABSTRACT

In a system for function settings of operating components in a piece of electronic equipment, a microcomputer circuit ( 4 ) of a radio receiver outputs function control signals to a radio receiver circuit ( 2 ), based on operating input signals. An input-output port correspondence setting program is downloaded from an external personal computer ( 8 ) to the microcomputer circuit ( 4 ), this program displaying a correspondence guide screen on a display of the external personal computer ( 8 ) and generating control function assignment data between groups of operating components ( 31   a   , 31   b ), ( 32   a  to  32   c ), and ( 33   a  to  33   c  and  34   a  to  34   c ) having the same type and characteristics. This data is transferred to the microcomputer circuit ( 4 ), so that the microcomputer circuit ( 4 ) sets the relationships of correspondence between the input and output ports ( 4   d ) and ( 4   e ), based on the input-output port correspondence setting program.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an electronic equipmentoperating component function setting system, as applied to variouselectronic equipment, such as radio equipment, in which a microcomputercircuit is used to control input and output of operating signals, thissystem selectively setting assignments of control functions foroperating components, in accordance with the operator of the equipmentand the particular installation location.

[0003] 2. Related Art

[0004] Electronic equipment such as radio equipment has many operatingcomponents located on a front panel, the placement of which thereon isdone with consideration given to the ease of operation when performingcontrol of the associated functions. For example, the scheme usuallyfollowed in the case of radio equipment is that operating components forchanging the frequency, which are often operated are placed on the rightside, operating components for audio volume adjustment are placed on theleft side, and switches used to change the mode or select a frequencyband and squelch level adjusting components are located in the center.

[0005] There are a variety of methods of mounting operating componentsto a front panel, the general method employed being that ofpre-assembling operating components to a panel board, and then mountingthe panel board to the rear surface of the front panel, so thatoperating parts of the operating components protrude through or areexposed via holes formed in the front panel, with knobs mounted toprotruding shafts that form the operating parts of operating components.

[0006] The configuration shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 of the accompanyingdrawings is that of an example applied to a radio receiver, thesedrawings being an outer perspective view and an exploded view of thevarious constituent elements thereof.

[0007] In these drawings, the reference numeral 101 denotes a die-castchassis, 102 is a PCB (printed circuit board), onto which is packaged anelectronic circuit, 103 is a top cover, 104 is a bottom cover, 105 areoperating components such as potentiometers, rotary encoders, andswitches, 106 is a liquid-crystal display panel, 107 is a panel board,108 is a front panel, 109 are knobs, and 110 is a transparent acrylicsheet, the radio receiver 100 being assembled by the followingprocedure.

[0008] First, the PCB 102 is mounted to the die-cast chassis 101 afterthe connector 102 a is mounted to the PCB 102.

[0009] The panel board 107 also is formed by a PCB, the variousoperating components 105 being soldered or brazed into place with theoperating parts thereof passing through the holes pre-formed in thepanel board 107, the terminals of each being connected by soldering tothe conductive pattern parts of the panel board 107, and the LCD panelbeing mounted to a window formed in the panel board 107.

[0010] A connector-terminated cable 107 a is also connected to the panelboard 107, thereby completing the overall panel board assembly 107 b.

[0011] Next, holes and windows are formed also in the front panel 108 atpositions corresponding to the holes and windows in the panel board 107,the panel board assembly 107 b, to which are mounted the various parts105, 106, and 107 a, being mounted to the rear surface of the frontpanel 108, and the transparent acrylic sheet 110 being mounted to thewindow part formed at the front surface of the front panel 108.

[0012] Then, the entire front panel 108, to which is mounted the panelboard assembly 107 b, is mounted to the front surface of the die-castchassis 101, after which the connector-terminated cable 107 a of thepanel board assembly 107 b is connected to a connector 102 a on the PCB102, and, if there are connectors on the rear surface of the die-castchassis 101, these are also connected to the PCB 102.

[0013] After the above is done, the top cover 103 and the bottom cover104 are mounted to the die-cast chassis 101, and finally knobs 109 arepressed from the front side onto shafts of operating parts of theoperating components 105 passing through holes in the front panel 108,thereby completing the assembly of the product (the radio receiver 100).

[0014] Recently, to simplify the assembly process, a bracket or thelike, to which individual components are mounted, is fixed to the PCB102, with the parts 105 and 106 being directly mounted to the PCB 102,along with the electronic circuit, so as to simplify the assemblyprocess.

[0015] Although the layout of the operating components on the frontpanel as described above is done with the assumption of a right-handedoperator, the operator of the radio equipment or the like is naturallynot necessarily right-handed, and might have lost the use of the righthand for reason of some disability or injury, making operation extremelydifficult.

[0016] Additionally, in mobile radio equipment installed in a vehicle,with restrictions in the installation location, there are cases in whichfixing the location of operating components results in a worsening ofease of operation.

[0017] In view of the above-noted situation, although there is asignificant need for placement of operating components to accommodateindividual operating conditions, with the operating components 105assembled to the panel board 107 as noted above, it is not possible tofreely change the layout positions of the operating components 105 onthe front panel 108. If an attempt is made to change the layoutpositions, it would be necessary to change the conductive path layout ofthe panel board 107 and the PCB 102 as well, the result being that onlya made to order product could accommodate these changes, this productbeing highly costly.

[0018] In much recent electronic equipment, operating input signal arecaptured as digital information by a microcomputer circuit, which iscaused to perform the prescribed control functions, so that operatingcomponents having the same attributes often have common specifications.In the case of the above-noted example of a radio receiver, rotaryencoders are used to change the frequency or adjust audio volume,pushbutton switches are used to perform mode and band switching, andpotentiometers are used for squelch level adjustments and the like, andif operating components with common specifications are used for thesefunctions, parts procurement is facilitated, enabling purchase of asmaller number of parts having the same specifications at one time,thereby providing a reduction in the cost of parts.

[0019] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention, in view ofthe above-noted problems, to provide a system for programmably assigningcontrol functions to each operating component, thereby enablingselective placement of operating components for the function controls ofa piece of electronic equipment, so as to achieve good ease ofoperation, adapted to the operation conditions of the equipment at alltimes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The present invention is a system for function settings ofoperating components in a piece of electronic equipment having a circuitconfiguration wherein an internal microcomputer circuit outputs controlsignals for functions to be controlled, based on input signals inputfrom each operating component, and which includes groups of operatingcomponents of the same type and characteristics. In this system, aconnector is provided for making connection between an external computerand the microcomputer circuit, the connection condition therebetweenestablishing whether a program for making settings of correspondencebetween input and output ports is to be downloaded from the externalcomputer to the microcomputer circuit, or whether the above-notedprogram has been previously stored in the above-noted microcomputercircuit, with data that establishes a correspondence between input andoutput ports of the microcomputer being transferred from the externalcomputer, so that the microcomputer circuit, based on this program,executes the establishment of settings of correspondence between inputports associated with groups of operating components of the same typeand characteristics and output ports associated with functions that areto be controlled.

[0021] According to the present invention, a microcomputer circuitperforms control of the output of control signals with respect tofunctions that are to be controlled, responsive to operating inputs inthe electronic equipment, the setting of correspondences between inputand output ports of the microcomputer circuit being selectivelyexecutable from the external computer. It is therefore possible tofreely establish functional assignments between operating components ofthe same type and characteristics, thereby enabling the achievement offunctional operating component placement adapted to the usage conditionsof the electronic equipment.

[0022] In the present invention, data that establishes correspondencesbetween input and output ports of a microcomputer circuit is transferredfrom an external computer, and it is alternately possible to generatethis data using the external computer, in which case the display of theexternal computer displays a layout screen showing the operatingcomponent of the electronic equipment, with position information addedat the display positions of each of the operating components and atable, in which there is a correspondence set up between the positioninformation of each group of operating components of the same type andcharacteristics and functional information icons of the functions to becontrolled that can be assigned to these operating component groups, thefunction information icons of this table being dragged and dropped ontodisplay positions of operating components in the layout screen, in anobject-oriented type of assignment operation, which facilitates theintuitive generation of the correspondence data.

[0023] If the program for setting the input-output port correspondencesis provided stored in a recording medium that can be read by theelectronic equipment and the external computer, it is possible for thepurchaser of the electronic equipment to freely initialize the layout offunctional operating components associated with the electronicequipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The above and other features of the present invention will bebetter understood by reading the description of exemplary embodiments tofollow, making reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0025]FIG. 1 is a drawing showing placement of operating components onthe front panel of a radio receiver and an associated system circuitdiagram;

[0026]FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure for functionalassignments of each operating component of a radio receiver;

[0027]FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the assignment guide screen displayedon the display of a personal computer;

[0028]FIG. 4 is an outer perspective view of a radio receiver; and

[0029]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing constituentelements of a radio receiver.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Embodiments of a system for functional setting of operatingcomponents in electronic equipment according to the present inventionare described in detail below, with references made to FIG. 1 throughFIG. 3.

[0031] Specifically, FIG. 1 is a drawing showing placement of operatingcomponents on the front panel of a radio receiver and an associatedsystem circuit diagram, the system circuit diagram showing variousoperating components and the correspondence of these components toplacement positions of parts on the front panel.

[0032]FIG. 1 also shows the connection of a personal computer (PC) tothe above-noted radio receiver.

[0033] In this drawing, the main part of the system circuitry 1 isformed by a radio receiver circuit 2, an operating part 3, and amicrocomputer 4, the radio receiver circuit 2 being connected to anantenna 5 and a speaker 6, and further having an output circuit withrespect to a liquid-crystal display 7.

[0034] In this system circuit 1, the microcomputer 4 captures variousoperating signal from the operating component groups 3, and outputsprescribed control signals to the various function control terminals ofthe radio receiver circuit 2, in response to operations.

[0035] The radio receiver has a connector 9 for connection to theexternal personal computer 8, and it is possible to make a connectionbetween the personal computer 8 and the microcomputer circuit 4 via thisconnector 9.

[0036] The above-noted operating component groups 3 are formed by tworotary encoders 31 a and 31 b, three potentiometers 32 a, 32 b, and 32c, and six pushbutton switches 33 a, 33 b, 33 c, 34 a, 34 b, and 34 c.

[0037] Digital signals responsive to the amount of operation ofoperating components are input to the microcomputer circuit 4 viacounters 35 a and 35 b for the rotary encoders 31 a and 31 b, and viaAID converters 36 a to 36 c for the potentiometers 32 a to 32 c, andon/off signals for the pushbutton switches 33 a to 33 c and 34 a to 34 care also input to the microcomputer circuit 4.

[0038] The above-noted groups of same-type operating components are eachmade up of parts having the same specifications. For example, in thecase of the rotary encoders 31 a and 31 b, both have the samecharacteristics in terms of the required resolving power in terms of aunit angle or with regard to one revolution, and in the case of thepotentiometers 32 a to 32 c, the characteristics are the same, in termsof the range of variable resistance.

[0039] While operating components also include a power switch and thelike, these are not illustrated, as they are not that significant forthe purpose of describing the features of this embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0040] The microcomputer circuit is usually formed by a CPU 4 a, a ROM 4b, a RAM 4 c, an input port 4 d, and an output port 4 e, which areconnected via a bus. As noted above, operating signal input lines of thevarious operating components of the operating part 3 are connected tothe input port 4 d, and control signal output lines for the radioreceiver circuit 2 are connected to the output port 4 e, the input andoutput ports 4 d and 4 e being connected to the personal computer viathe connector 9.

[0041] Based on the above-described system configuration, the functionsetting system for operating components in this embodiment is describedbelow, with reference made to the flowchart of FIG. 2.

[0042] First, when the above-noted radio receiver is shipped from thefactory, the control functions for each operating component are notassigned. Instead, a floppy disk 10 and instruction manual, whichincludes a description of the function settings, are packaged with theradio receiver, enabling the user to make control function assignmentsto the various operating components.

[0043] Before using the radio receiver, the user makes a connectionbetween the radio receiver and the personal computer 8 via the connector9, and inserts the floppy disk 10 into the personal computer 8.

[0044] At this point, the floppy disk 10 has stored on it an operatingfunction assignment program for the operating components, enabling thedownloading of this program to the radio receiver by performing aprescribed operation at the personal computer 8 (step S1).

[0045] By performing this downloading operation, both the radio receiverand the personal computer 8 are placed in the function assignment mode,and the display of the personal computer 8 displays an assignment guidescreen, as shown in FIG. 3 (steps S2 and S3). This assignment guidescreen provides the following information.

[0046] The upper area of the screen shows a layout drawing 21 indicatingthe part groups of the operating components 3 on the front panel of theradio receiver and the position information A to K at the displaypositions of the various operating components, with a blank functionindictor located above the display positions of each operatingcomponent.

[0047] The lower area of the screen displays a correspondence table 22,which indicates the position information A to K, and functioninformation icons that can be assigned to operating components at eachof the positions.

[0048] Although these function information icons are indicated insimplified form in FIG. 3, the actual display shows the function names,such as frequency change for [Ra], audio volume for [Rb], squelch leveladjustment for [Va], shift adjustment for [Vb], width adjustment for[Vc], and mode switching or bandwidth switching for [S1 a] to [Sb3].

[0049] With the operating components for the position information A andB corresponding to rotary encoders, the operating components for theposition information C to E corresponding to potentiometers, and theoperating components for the position information F to K correspondingto pushbutton switches, because of the restriction with regard to theassignable functions for each of these operating component groups, it ispossible to assign only [Ra] and [Rb] to position information A and B,to assign only [Va], [Vb], and [Vc] to position information C, D, and E,and only [S1 a] to [Sb3] to position information F to K, theserestrictions being indicated by assignment to different lines of thecorrespondence table 22.

[0050] The lowermost part of the screen has an operational guidancefield 23 for the function assignment mode, and buttons 24, 25, and 26,which serve as OK, Cancel, and Apply buttons.

[0051] Next, returning to FIG. 2, the user follows the above-describedassignment guide screen while selecting function information icons witha mouse 8 a of the personal computer 8, so as to drag and drop thefunction information icons on desired position information parts(operating component positions) (step S4). When this is done, thepersonal computer 8 verifies whether a dragged and dropped functioninformation icon can be dropped onto to the selected positioninformation, and if dropping is allowed, displays the prompt message“OK?” in the operating guidance field 23 of the display. If the OKbutton 24 is clicked at this point, the individual assignment dataspecified by the drag-and-drop operation is saved into an internalmemory (steps S5 to S8).

[0052] Function names of the function information icons selected basedon the assignment data established in the above-noted manner aredisplayed on the function display part in correspondence to the selectedposition information (step S9).

[0053] In the case in which a drag-and-drop operation is attempted atstep S5 but the assignment is not possible, if rather than clicking theOK button 24 the Cancel button 25 is clicked at step S6 to requestcancellation of the setting, the data of the drag-and-drop operation isinvalidated, and a message prompting a retry of the operation isdisplayed in the operation guidance field 23 (step S5 jumping to stepS22 and step S6 jumping to steps S21 and S22).

[0054] By repeating the drag-and-drop operations to drag and drop eachfunction information icon to an operating component part at a desiredposition information, assignment data established by these operationsare successively saved in to the internal memory of the personalcomputer 8, as the function names of the function information icons aresequentially displayed at the function display parts of the selectedposition information (steps S4 to S10, and return to step S4).

[0055] The broken lines and arrows shown in FIG. 3 indicate thecondition of making selective assignments of the function informationicons [Ra], [Rb], and [Vc] to operating components corresponding to theposition information A, B, and E.

[0056] When all the assignments are completed by the process of theabove-noted drag-and-drop operations, a message appears in the operatingguidance field 23 to ask the user whether the completed assignments areto be set, at which point the users checks the layout screen 21 onceagain, and, if the layout is acceptable, clicks the Apply button 26 toindicate that the settings are to be applied (steps S11 and S12).

[0057] If there is an error in the completed condition of the layoutscreen 21, making it necessary to make a correction, the user clicks theCancel button 25, thereby clearing all the data, at which point it ispossible to redo all the assignments (step S11 jumping to step S23 andstep S24 jumping to step S4).

[0058] If the Apply button 26 is clicked, the assignment data aftercompletion of the above-noted operations is set as data by the personalcomputer 8 and transferred to the radio receiver (step S13).

[0059] Upon receiving this assignment data, the microcomputer circuit 4of the radio receiver launches the operating function assignment programdownloaded thereto at step S1, so as to set the relationship ofcorrespondence between its input port 4 d and the output port 3 e, inaccordance with the above-noted assignment data (step S14).

[0060] More specifically, for example, in the case in which, as shown inFIG. 3, if the function information icons [Ra], [Rb],and [Vc] arerespectively assigned to the operating components associated with theposition information A, B, and E, the input-output relationships are setup in FIG. 1 so that the signal input port of the input ports 4 dassociated with the rotary encoder 31 a is connected to the signaloutput port of the output ports 4 e connected of to the frequencyconversion terminal of the receiver circuit, the signal input port ofthe input ports 4 d associated with the rotary encoder 31 b is connectedto the signal output port of the output ports 4 e connected to the audiovolume adjustment terminal of the receiver circuit, and the signal inputport of the input ports 4 d associated with potentiometer 32 c isconnected to the signal output port of the output ports 4 e connected tothe squelch level adjustment terminal of the receiver circuit, with theinput and output ports for other signals being assigned settings inaccordance with the assignment data.

[0061] That is, in this embodiment the control function assignments ofthe operating components 3 a, 31 b, 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, 33 a, 33 b, 33 c,34 a, 34 b, and 34 c of the radio receiver can be programmably executedfrom the personal computer 8, so that function settings can be freelymade mutually between the operating component groups (31 a, 31 b), (32 ato 32 c), and (33 a to 33 c, 34 a to 34 c) of operating components ofthe same type and characteristics.

[0062] It is therefore possible to easily achieve a layout of functionoperating components that provides the optimum ease of operation inaccordance with the dominant hand of the user, or requirements imposedbecause of impaired hand use of the user, or because of restrictionsimposed by the installation location of the radio receiver.

[0063] In general, the knobs and exposed parts of operating componentson the front panel have function or scale markings nearby these parts.In this embodiment, however, because the functions of the operatingcomponent groups (3 a, 31 b), (32 a to 32 c), and (33 a to 33 c, 34 a to34 c) are selectively assigned in accordance with usage conditions, theuse of front panel functional markings, as done in the past, is notpractical.

[0064] With regard to this problem, it is possible to pre-fabricateprinted or embossed seals or plates with function names thereon, and toaffix these seals or plates in accordance with the layout of theoperating components for the various functions, thereby providing amarking of the functions of the respective knobs and switches.

[0065] In this case, it is possible to refer to the layout screen 21displayed on the personal computer 8 display or to a printout therefromafter the establishment of the assignments when applying the seals orplates in accordance with the function names shown at the functionindication parts.

[0066] Although this embodiment is described for the case in whichabsolutely no functions are assigned to the operating components at thetime the radio receiver is shipped from the factory, it will beunderstood that it is alternately possible to provide a radio receiverwith standard function assignments (for example, assignments that assumea right-handed user), and to enable the user to follow the above-notedprocedure so as to overwrite the standardly provided assignments.

[0067] Additionally, although in this embodiment the operating functionassignment program is downloaded from the personal computer 8 to theradio receiver, it will be understood that it is alternately possible tohave this program be a process control program that establishescorrespondences between the input and output ports 4 d and 4 e, based onthe assignment data, thereby eliminating the need to provide theexternal personal computer 8, this being stored beforehand in the ROM 4b of the microcomputer circuit of the radio receiver, so that only theassignment guide screen data and the operating procedure program anddata transfer program are provided on the floppy disk 8 a, the datatransfer causing automatic launching of the operating functionassignment program by the microcomputer circuit 4.

[0068] Additionally, although in this embodiment the systemconfiguration has a dedicated microcomputer circuit 4 to control inputand output of the operating signals, in the case in which amicrocomputer circuit is provided to control the overall system, if themicrocomputer circuit has a sufficient number of ports and processingcapacity, this microcomputer circuit can be used, the procedure of thisembodiment being executable by that microcomputer circuit.

[0069] By adopting the above-noted constitution, an electronic equipmentoperating component function setting system according to the presentinvention achieves an number of effects.

[0070] The subject invention is used in electronic equipment having aconfiguration in which a microcomputer circuit outputs control signalsfor controlling functions, based on input signals from various operatingcomponents, this electronic equipment having groups of operatingcomponents of the same type and characteristics, to enable programmablesetting of the functional assignments between operating components ofthe same type and characteristics, thereby enabling easy placement offunction operating components that adapts to usage conditions of theelectronic equipment, such as the need to accommodate the dominant handof a user, or to accommodate restrictions imposed by the need to provideeasy operation for a disabled user or the need to accommodate aparticular installation location for the radio receiver.

[0071] The subject invention also enables execution of the functionassignment operation recited in claim 1 of the accompanying claims usingan object-oriented procedure to provide the user with a visualpresentation during setting, thereby facilitating the intuitivegeneration of correspondence data.

[0072] The subject invention, taking advantage of the widespread use ofpersonal computers, further enables the user to make functionalassignments of operating components of a piece of electronic equipmentfrom a personal computer.

[0073] While several forms of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it will also be apparent that variousmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Furthermore, while the preferred embodiment of theinvention has been described in terms of the dimensions andcross-sectional configurations of various components of the invention itis understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to thosespecific dimensions or configurations but is to be accorded the fullbreadth and scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for function settings of operatingcomponents in a piece of electronic equipment having a circuitconfiguration wherein an internal microcomputer circuit outputs controlsignals to functions to be controlled, based on input signals input fromoperating components, and which includes groups of operating componentsof a same type and characteristics, said system comprising: a connectorfor making connection between an external computer and saidmicrocomputer circuit, a connection condition therebetween establishingwhether a program for making settings of correspondence between inputand output ports is to be downloaded from said external computer to saidmicrocomputer circuit, or whether said program is to be priorly storedin said microcomputer circuit, with data establishing a correspondencebetween input and output ports of the microcomputer being transferredfrom said external computer, so that said microcomputer circuit, basedon said program, executes establishment of settings of correspondencebetween input ports associated with groups of operating components ofsaid same type and characteristics and output ports associated withfunctions that are to be controlled.
 2. A system for function settingsof operating components in a piece of electronic equipment according toclaim 1, wherein generation of correspondence data by said externalcomputer is performed by displaying on a display of said externalcomputer a layout screen showing operating components of the electronicequipment, with position information added at the display positions ofeach of said operating components and a table, which showscorrespondences set up between position information of each group ofoperating components of said same type and characteristics andfunctional information icons of functions to be controlled that can beassigned to these operating component groups, said function informationicons of said table being dragged and dropped onto display positions ofoperating components in said layout screen.
 3. A system for functionsettings of operating components in a piece of electronic equipmentaccording to claim 1, wherein said input-output port correspondencesetting program is provided stored in a recording medium readable by theelectronic equipment and said external computer.
 4. A system forfunction settings of operating components in a piece of electronicequipment according to claim 2, wherein said input-output portcorrespondence setting program is provided stored in a recording mediumreadable by the electronic equipment and said external computer.